


don't leave me here alone

by sinshine



Category: Promare (2019)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Falling In Love, Fluff and Angst, Frottage, M/M, Mention of recreational drug use, Oral Sex, botched proposal, house arrest
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-22
Updated: 2020-05-02
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:13:49
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,049
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23783698
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sinshine/pseuds/sinshine
Summary: Their friends were pleased but unsurprised to learn that Galo and Lio had decided to start living together under an official, legal context. The surprising part came a week later, when Lio was officially and legally placed on house arrest.
Relationships: Lio Fotia/Galo Thymos
Comments: 21
Kudos: 189





	1. rituals

**Author's Note:**

> "I don’t think that I’ve been in love as such  
> Although I liked a few folk pretty well  
> Love must be vaster than my smiles or touch  
> for brave men died and empires rose and fell"  
> -Neil Gaiman

Lio wasn’t used to thinking of things from a long-term perspective. He had grown comfortable with the idea that there would always be someone trying to kill him, or that each meal he ate might be his last. Being able to think on his feet was an integral part to staying alive, but that relied on an intimate knowledge and understanding of the here-and-now.There wasn’t any sense in planning for a future that he probably wouldn’t live to see.

“Do you want to add anything else to the shopping list?” Galo leaned over the back of the couch, waving a pen and notepad in front of Lio.

Lio glanced up at him briefly, noting that Galo still hadn’t put on a shirt since he’d arrived home, and returned to reading a news article on his phone. “Nope.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m fine with whatever you like.” Lio knew that he should be winding down for bed and focusing on serene, peaceful thoughts, but he’d developed a bad habit of scrolling through news apps until he passed out. With effort, he closed all open applications on his phone and turned off the screen. Lio stretched his arms over his head and saw that Galo was still watching him. “What?”

Galo took that as his invitation to vault the back of the couch, tipping it onto two legs and then bringing all four back down with a _bang_ as he dropped ungracefully onto the cushion next to Lio, who scowled at him. “We’ve been living together for a few months now, and I noticed that you only buy mac and cheese, instant noodles, and canned soup.”

“And?”

“And I’ve never seen you turn anything down, so it’s not like you’re a picky eater. Do you want me to teach you how to cook?”

Lio opened his mouth--

“I mean, how to cook something that doesn’t come with the instructions printed on it.”

Lio closed his mouth and reconsidered. “I suppose it would be useful to learn. Especially since we’re starting to have more leisure time.”

“Is that what you call a sixty-hour work week?” Galo chuckled. Even so, it was better than the eighty-plus they had been pulling until recently, using the apartment only as a place to shower and sleep before going back to rescue work. As much as Galo liked to eat out, it was nice to finally have time to cook at home. He also liked that he was finally getting to know a more personal side of Lio.

Lio, however, seemed less than thrilled about this. “Well, it used to be a twenty-four hour gig for me.”

“Right.” Galo’s ears flushed red and he dragged the pen over the spiral edge of the notepad. _Tp-tp-tp-tp._ “What’s your favorite food?”

Lio slumped in his seat, sliding down the back of the couch. “Mac and cheese.”

“Oh!” Galo said this a little more loudly than he meant to and Lio turned to him in surprise. Galo grinned at him, his blush spreading to his cheeks. “I didn’t expect you to say that.”

Lio bristled, unsure if he should be offended. “What’s so unexpected about it?”

“I dunno. It’s just kind of cute.”

Lio wasn’t sure why Galo, of all people, was the one to keep unbalancing him in conversations. Maybe it was his earnestness that was so off-putting. Or maybe ‘earnest’ was just a nice way to describe someone who was too foolish to bother with censoring himself. Either way, a subject change was in order. “Actually, do the stores here sell alligator?”

“Like… alligator steak?”

“Yeah. Gueira’s made it a few times, but we hunted our own gator.”

Galo’s brain produced a vivid image of the Mad Burnish trio, roaring through a Florida swamp on one of those fan-powered boats at top speed in pursuit of a gator. The smell of citrus saturating the humid air as they lobbed firey oranges at their prey.

Lio raised an eyebrow as Galo’s face took on a glazed, but amused, expression. “What are you thinking?”

“Just thinkin’ about gators,” Galo said with a shrug and a smile. “I’ll find out where we can get some.”

“Alright.” Lio nodded in a ‘that’s that’ kind of way. Galo continued to smile serenely at him, so Lio threw a pillow at his face. “Well, move along. Get off my bed.”

“Okay, okay!” Galo laughed and got up from the couch, touching Lio’s arm lightly as he did so. “Sleep well, Lio.”

“You too,” Lio said; and then, a little more quietly, “Thank you, Galo.”

Galo flashed another brilliant grin and pointed finger-guns at Lio as he walked backwards into his bedroom. Once he was out of sight, Lio sighed and rubbed both of his hands over his face.

  
  


  
  


...

  
  


  
  


Lio didn’t have any interests or skills that weren’t directly related to surviving a life on the road. He was a talented mechanic and could spend hours in the garage with Varys or Lucia. He had an uncanny sense of direction and never got lost. He knew just as much about first aid as Galo did, and he was the calmer of the two of them when Lio nearly amputated his own thumb during a botched cooking lesson.

Contrarily, Galo’s interests were many and varied. They ranged from fitness, to cult films, to obscure historical information about how things were made. As the citywide recovery project progressed and daily life adjusted to its new normal, Galo would spend his free time assembling scale models, learning to play the guitar, and constructing increasingly elaborate matoi. So, it wasn’t really a surprise when he came home one day with a small tray of plants in square, plastic pots.

“Check it out!” Galo set them down on the kitchen counter and ushered Lio over, wrapping an arm around his shoulders and steering him away from the glass of water he had just finished pouring. “I helped the grandma downstairs move her furniture last week, and today she gave me all these! Can you believe it?”

“I really can,” Lio said, stretching his arm out to grab his glass while still ensnared by Galo’s bicep. He took a sip and surveyed the plants, vaguely recognizing a couple of them. “Are all of these herbs?”

“Yeah!” Galo pointed at each of the plants as he identified them. “We’ve got rosemary, oregano, basil, dill... and I think this one’s mint.”

Lio wrinkled his nose. “Why would you flavor something to taste like toothpaste?”

“It’s different from toothpaste. You can use it with chicken or, like, put it in a drink or a desert.” Galo tore off part of a leaf and put it in his mouth. “Yeah, that’s mint. Wanna taste it?”

“Yes,” Lio said. He was looking intently at the plant now, but, just for a moment, Galo thought he might have been looking at his mouth. Lio tore off part of the same leaf and chewed it thoughtfully. “Huh. That’s kinda nice.”

  
  


  
  


…

  
  


  
  


Now that Galo had noticed it, he couldn’t seem to _stop_ noticing it. It was strange how often Galo would turn to look at Lio, only to see a shimmer of blond hair as Lio looked away from him. Galo was used to being stared at; both his hair style and his shoulder-to-waist ratio had been catching eyes since he was a teenager. The stares continued to increase as he achieved celebrity status and Galo couldn't deny that he liked the attention, but, even more than that, he liked the way that Lio looked at him. It wasn’t so much the expressions he made, but the way Lio made him feel; like everything was going to be okay as long as he was there.

Galo stepped out onto the roof of Burning Rescue, taking a deep breath to fill his lungs with cool, night air. When he blew it back out, he could see the faintest wisps of his own breath. The weather was still pretty moderate during the daytime, but the nights were starting to get much colder. Galo wandered in a circle around the roof. There weren’t many places to hide up here but, even though he didn’t see anyone else, Galo felt that he wasn’t alone. His gaze eventually drifted to the top of the roof access stair, where he spied a small figure sitting cross-legged and watching him.

“Found you!” Galo grinned and went back over to the stair access, climbing onto some kind of utility box so that he could get up to the top.

“Galo Thymos,” Lio began in what Galo fondly referred to as his ‘business voice’, “Have you perhaps considered that I might have come up here to be alone?”

Galo sat down next to Lio, letting his legs dangle over the side, and dug around in his jacket pocket. “I considered that you were probably out here without your gloves.”

“…Thank you.” Lio accepted the gloves from Galo and pulled them on, flexing his hands. His red uniform jacket was well insulated, but his fingers were a little stiff from the cold. “You’re missing your own party.”

“I’m all partied-out. I’m not used to staying up this late.” Galo punctuated his statement with a yawn. It was only ten thirty, but he tended to rise before the sun did in the morning. “And it’s my birthday, so I can do what I want.”

“I suppose.”

Galo shrugged and leaned back on his elbows, looking up at the sky. “Do you want me to leave?”

Lio regarded Galo, watching him surreptitiously from behind his curtain of hair. “No.”

Galo caught him at it anyway and he smiled at Lio. “Remember right after the Parnassus crashed, how a lot of the city was without electric for a few weeks?”

“Yes. It was pretty inconvenient to deal with on top of everything else going on.”

“Yeah,” Galo agreed. “But it was kind of nice being able to see the stars in the city. There’s too much light pollution otherwise.”

“I do miss that part about traveling,” Lio said, sounding a little wistful. “Sleeping out in the desert, with nothing else around for miles, and billions of stars stretching from horizon to horizon. You can see that sort of sky in movies and in pictures, but that’s only a fraction of the real thing.”

Galo hummed thoughtfully. “We could go camping in the forest. Would that still be too close to the city?”

“It would have to be someplace really remote, so we’d need to go more than a few hours away from Promepolis. But I don’t think driving through the middle of nowhere with nothing to do is really your idea of a vacation.”

“I’d be happy as long as you were there.”

“You don’t know that, Galo.” Lio sighed as a familiar mix of affection and exasperation began to rise in his chest. “You barely know me. We only met six months ago and we’ve spent most of that time doing damage-control in the city.”

“But I _want_ to know you.” Galo pushed himself upright and moved closer to Lio, their knees bumping together. “I like being alone with you.”

Lio uncrossed his legs so that they were no longer touching, letting them dangle over the ledge to mirror Galo. “Alone, together. For someone as amiable as you, you’re a surprisingly lonely person.”

Galo kicked his legs back and forth. “You think so?”

“I know what it looks like when someone carries a lot of grief with them.”

“I guess that’s true, but it doesn’t hurt like it used to.” Galo nodded slowly, frowning as he considered Lio’s words, but then he brightened. “I’m lucky to have found a lot of people who support me. I’ve never had this many friends before!”

“Or fans,” Lio teased him.

“Yeah,” Galo said with a small laugh. “But, y’know, even with all those people around... I feel a lot less lonely whenever it’s just you and me.”

Lio blushed and looked away from Galo, turning his attention to a frayed edge onthe hem of his jacket and worrying it with his thumb. That was another problem with earnest people; they had absolutely no regard for context. Lio chewed on his lip and was quiet for a moment. “I feel the same way.”

Galo’s hand covered Lio’s own and stilled his fidgeting. Lio’s head snapped up and he locked eyes with Galo’s intense gaze. “Lio...”

Lio swallowed nervously. Ohgod, he’d just assumed that Galo had been talking out of his ass and saying whatever he wanted, but was there actually some context here? The way that Galo’s hand was trembling certainly suggested it. “Galo?”

“I...” Galo made a small, frustrated sound and gently bumped his forehead against Lio’s. “Lio, I _really_ like you.”

Both Lio’s breath and his heart felt like they were caught in his throat. His eyes were drawn to a flicker of movement and he saw Galo’s tongue darting out to lick his lips. There was no way to hide that he had been caught looking at Galo’s mouth again and Lio could feel his face burning, but he stared evenly back at Galo. He grabbed the front of Galo’s shirt-- not pulling him any closer, just holding him in place-- and whispered an answering challenge. “Prove it.”

Galo’s breath hitched and he leaned in closer. He raised his other hand to experimentally touch his fingertips to Lio’s jaw, his thumb passing lightly over the curve of his cheek, before gently raising his chin. His hands were warm, but still trembling, and he let out a shaky breath that Lio could feel the warmth of on his own lips. “Could you, um, close your eyes?”

Lio obliged and a mirthful smile played on his lips. “Do I make you nervous?”

“Yes,” Galo said, marveling at the way Lio’s pale eyelashes fluttered above his flushed cheeks. “You’re important to me.”

Galo closed the distance between them slowly, pressing his mouth to Lio’s in a lingering kiss. He meant to just leave it at that, but when he tried to move away, Lio tightened his his grip on Galo’s shirt and pulled him back in. They escalated from there; Galo’s hand slipped around to cup the back of Lio’s head, his hand carding through his hair, and Lio’s arms encircled his neck. Galo gasped when Lio bit his lower lip and ran his tongue over the mark, his hands moving through Galo’s hair, over his shoulders and down to his chest. He let Lio climb onto his lap and push him down, parting his lips when Lio grabbed his jaw and progressed to open-mouthed kisses. Galo moaned underneath him, his hands gripping Lio’s waist as he tried to ground himself, feeling increasingly lightheaded every time Lio’s tongue slid over his own.

"Sorry, I got carried away," Lio saidwhen he finally let Galo breathe again, pressing a final kiss to the corner of his mouth. He still lay partially on top of him, unwilling to stop touching Galo now that he knew he was allowed to. Lio smiled and ran his fingers over Galo’s throat, feeling his pulse jump as he slipped his fingers under the collar of his shirt. “I've been wanting to do that for a while. You’re so cute, Galo.”

Galo made a noise that was somewhere between a sigh and a whine. He made an uncoordinated attempt to bat at Lio’s wandering hand as it traced his collarbone, still feeling overwhelmed by every point of contact between them.

“You’re noisy, too,” Lio commented with a light laugh, taking the hand that Galo was trying to swat him with and kissing the knuckle of his thumb.

“You already knew that,” Galo mumbled. He slung his arm around Lio’s shoulders and tugged him back down onto his chest.

“Laying out here is uncomfortable,” Lio said as he tucked his head under Galo’s chin.

“You can move, if you want.” Galo chuckled when Lio fell silent, giving his shoulder an affectionate squeeze. They lay like that for a few minutes; listening to the night sounds of people and traffic pass by on the streets below, enjoying the shared warmth of their bodies pressed together. “This turned out to be a very excellent birthday.”

Lio huffed a laugh. “You’re lucky I like you, or else you would have been setting yourself up for a shitty one.”

“Hah! I did think about that. But more in like a ‘hey, if I confess to Lio on my birthday, maybe he’ll go easy on me’ kind of way.”

Lio tilted his head up to kiss Galo’s neck, lightly nipping his skin. “If we moved this party indoors, I could go even easier on you.”

Galo made a sound that Lio usually associated with Galo’s first bite of a really good pizza. “I, uh--” Galo cleared his throat-- “I want to take things slowly, if that’s okay with you. I haven’t been in a relationship before and I wanna get this right.”

“Oh!” Lio raised his head a little so that he could see Galo’s face. “I thought you were a little sensitive, but I didn’t realize you were inexperienced.”

“I’ve had sex! _And_ I’m pretty sure I’m good at it!” Galo blustered. He’d never had cause to doubt his sexual prowess before, but he’d also never slept with someone who wore so many belts.

Lio laughed and propped his chin up on his hand, smiling down at Galo. “But aren’t you getting ahead of yourself?”

“Huh?”

“You just said that you liked me. You haven’t asked me to be in a relationship.”

“Lio Fotia,” Galo said solemnly, wrapping both of his arms around Lio, “Would you do me the grand honor of becoming my exclusive date-mate?”

Lio hummed and tapped his fingers on Galo’s chest as he pretended to think it over. “Will you start attending our cooking lessons while dressed in nothing but an apron?”

“You’d be too distracted by my perfectly sculpted ass. I bet you’d chop your thumb off again.”

“Probably,” Lio agreed. “But I’d still like to see you in just the apron.”

“First you’re all ‘Galo, put on a shirt,’” Galo said, mimicking Lio’s voice. “And now it’s ‘Galo, take off your pants.’ I wish you’d make up your mind.”

Lio smiledand tipped forward to kiss Galo’s jaw. “Okay. Let’s be boyfriends.”

“ _Yes!_ ” Galo hugged Lio tightly and rocked them back and forth with such jubilation that Lio let out another startled laugh. They only stopped after they almost rolled off of the stair access together.

  
  


  
  


…

  
  


  
  


Lio transitioned well into domesticity, which surprised him more than anyone else. He found that he enjoyed having a structured lifestyle; set hours for when he worked, designated days for chores and leisure, and sleeping in the same bed every night with the same gorgeous man. He liked learning about all the weird little rituals such a life entailed, having previously only been exposed to them sporadically through media and pop culture. Presently, Galo was telling him about housewarming parties while they shopped for a gift for Gueira and Meis.

“I thought we were looking for wine?” Lio asked as Galo slowed to stop in the condiment section.

“We _were_ looking for wine,” Galo said as he eyed the selection of hot sauces. “That’s kind of the done thing with housewarming gifts, but this is a better idea. C’mon, help me pick out some weird ones.”

Lio examined a label with particularly crude art and bright colors. “I guess a condiment gift basket is the sort of thing they’d like. Especially Gueira.”

“Oh yeah, that guy is a total sauce boss!” Galo grinned as Lio handed him the ugly bottle, along with another sauce that had swears in its name. “Plus, he’ll eat anything you give him. He’s the reason why we’re banned from that salad buffet on 7th avenue. Okay, five bottles should be enough.”

“Do we need to wrap them?”

“Nah, but we might wanna get a nice bag or something.”

Lio reached for the shopping basket as they started walking again, but Galo switched it carrying it on his other arm and took Lio’s hand in his own. Lio wanted to protest, but he was silenced by the gentle way that Galo’s thumb brushed over his knuckles before interlacing their fingers.

“What’s that look for?” Galo smirked triumphantly and Lio rolled his eyes, though he was smiling too.

“As alarming as I find your friendship with Gueira, I’m glad you two are getting along.”

“Gueira’s awesome! I just wish I could get Meis to like me.”

“Don’t worry about Meis. He likes you well enough.”

“Really? But he’s always so...” Galo tried to imitate Meis’s sullen glare.

“That’s just how his face is. I promise that if Meis actually disliked you, then he would let you know about it.”

“That’s both reassuring and mildly terrifying.” Galo brought them to an aisle with a small stationery section and started to look at gift bags. He crouched down to examine a large one that looked like a firetruck, but didn’t let go of Lio’s hand. “I’m glad they like their new apartment. The rehousing program is going way better than a lot of people thought it would.”

Lio followed the pull of Galo’s hand and crouched down, too. He smiled as he watched Galo’s unusually pensive face, but then Lio’s gaze moved to the floor as something else occurred to him. “I got my letter today. From the Burnish housing association.”

“Yeah?”

“They have some new apartments opening soon and want to know if I’m still interested.”

Galo eyed Lio curiously. “Are you interested?”

“I…I wasn’t sure if I could assume...”

Galo nodded and brought their clasped hands to his mouth so that he could kiss the back of Lio’s hand. "What if, instead of signing a new lease, you just add your name to the lease I already have?"

“Really?” Lio tried to keep his expression neutral, but his eyes were wide and eager.

“Really.”

“Well,” Lio tried to bite his lip to keep from smiling too widely, but Galo’s grin was contagious, “I suppose all my things are already there.”

Galo darted forward and kissed Lio, instantly losing his balance and knocking them both onto the floor. After apologizing to a shopper they startled, they bought the firetruck bag even though it was too large for the small collection of hot sauces and left the store. Lio insisted on carrying their shopping bag and held it out of Galo’s reach, pinching his armpit when he tried to grab it.

Galo laughed and held his hands up in surrender, reaching for Lio once more to tuck a lock of hair behind his ear. “Your hair’s getting shaggy again. Do you want me to trim it later?”

“Actually, I’ve been thinking about growing it out.”

  
  


  
  


…

  
  


  
  


Their friends were pleased but unsurprised to learn that Galo and Lio had decided to start living together under an official, legal context. The surprising part came a week later, when Lio was officially and legally placed on house arrest.

Technically, it had been part of the original agreement made between Lio and Promepolis’s government (what little was left of it, at least) that if Lio did decide tobecome an official resident of Promepolis, then he was to remain under house arrest until his trial date. At the time, Lio hadn’t given the stipulation it a second thought because he hadn’t lived in a house for more than a decade. Fortunately, more than a year had passed since the Second Blaze and Lio’s trial was now only eight weeks away. Unfortunately, it was still eight weeks away.

Lio spent the first day angry and restless, pacing the apartment like a caged predator as he alternated between outrage at the red tape of bureaucracy and frustration with his own lack of foresight. The second day was spent wallowing in a deep depression and he barely got out of bed. On the third day, Galo came home from work with Meis and Lucia in tow. Together, they set up a work station for Lio in the living room so that he could have access to the Burning Rescue network and continue his volunteer work with the Burnish.

Being able to work remotely carried Lio through the rest of the week, but he now ran through his daily tasks so quickly that it would only occupy a few hours of his day. So, Galo was unsurprised to return from a shopping trip one day and discover that Lio was deep-cleaning the entire apartment.

“I think you need a hobby,” Galo said, leaning on a counter while Lio furiously scrubbed the tiled backsplash.

“I don’t need a hobby, I need to work,” Lio grunted. He stepped back to inspect his work, then his eyes fell on the cabinets above the refrigerator. “What do we keep up there?”

“Old tupperware, mostly.” Galo watched with growing apprehension as Lio hoisted himself up onto the counter. “Uh, don’t do that.”

“I’m not going to fall,” Lio chided as he started dumping dusty plastic containers onto the top of the fridge.

Galo crossed the kitchen and tried to help, but Lio bat his hand away. “No, really, I can do that--”

Lio removed the last piece of tupperware from the back of the cabinet and Galo tried to grab it away from him, causing both of them to drop it. The plastic hit the floor and something small fell out of it, tumbling across the kitchen rug. Galo snatched it up and held it out of sight behind his back.

It was, unmistakably, a ring box.

“Uh,” Lio said. He sat down heavily on the counter. Plastic containers spilled from the top of the fridge onto the floor, clattering loudly.

“You weren’t supposed to go into the cabinet you never touch!” Galo protested, the back of his neck flushing red with embarrassment. Lio didn’t say anything, just stared at him in a way that was slightly unnerving. Galo slowly revealed the box, holding it with both hands but leaving it closed. “This isn’t how I wanted to do this.”

Lio made a strangled sound and scrambled off the counter, slapping his hand on top of Galo’s to make sure the box stayed closed. “You-- you really…?”

“Well, yeah. Of course I do. Unless, you…?”

“Galo, I can’t.”

“Oh,” Galo said in a very small voice.

“I- I’m not saying no!” Lio hurried to explain himself. “I just… I need to have more control over my life before-- before I make any big commitments.”

“No, you’re right. I understand.” Galo tucked the box into his pocket. And he really did understand, but he also wanted to cry.

Lio put his hands on Galo’s shoulders and stood on his toes to kiss him. “I love you. Galo, I love you so, so much, but I really need us to not change right now.”

“I love you, too.” Galo wrapped his arms around Lio, hugging him tightly and pressing his face into Lio’s shoulder until the urge to cry had passed. “Okay. Okay, question’s off the table. Let’s order pizza for dinner.”

Lio hugged Galo just as fiercely, also blinking back tears. “I don’t think I deserve you.”

Galo smiled and kissed Lio’s neck. “I don’t care what you think.”

  
  


  
  


…


	2. bonds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “A themed date, huh? If I’d known you were gonna do a vampire thing, I would’ve worn different underwear.”
> 
> “It’s not a vampire thing. Though now I am curious as to what you think a ‘vampire thing’ entails.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please note the rating change and tag updates!!!!
> 
> "For love, girls follow boys to foreign lands  
> and men have followed women into hell  
> In plays and poems someone understands  
> there’s something makes us more than blood and bone  
> and more than biological demands"  
> -Neil Gaiman

“To be fair,” Aina said tactfully, “You probably shouldn’t have asked him while he’s literally trapped in your apartment.”

“I didn’t mean to ask him!” Galo groaned, rubbing his hands over his face and through his hair. “I just wanted to hide the ring somewhere he couldn’t reach!”

“Bold of you to assume that short people aren’t accustomed to climbing on things they shouldn’t,” Lucia said. She shut the refrigerator and sat down at the kitchen table with them, cracking open a soda can. “Where’s the ring now?”

“It’s in my locker… Probably should’ve done that in the first place since he can’t come to work.”

“Probably,” Lucia agreed. While Galo groaned again, leaning forward until his face was pressed against the table, Aina gave her a stern look. Lucia rolled her eyes. “I mean, what’s done is done. At least he’s not breaking up with you.”

Galo picked his head up, revealing a red mark in the center of his forehead, and he stared wide-eyed at Lucia. “Are you saying that Lio would break up with me if he wasn’t trapped in our home?”

Lucia opened her mouth and Aina, sensing danger, kicked the leg of her chair and answered for her. “Lio’s going through a rough time. Right now, you just need to be there for him.”

“I think I’m with Lucia on this one,” Remi interjected. He had come into the kitchen for a coffee refill, but he took his time stirring sugar into the drink.

“I didn’t say anything,” Lucia grumbled.

“Since when do you have a problem with Lio?” Aina asked, not bothering to hide her annoyance.

“I don’t, really. Lio works hard and always tries his best. He’s a good coworker. And, for someone who’s lived off the grid for most of his life, he’s surprisingly good at getting his paperwork done in an accurate and timely manner.” Remi’s spoon clinked in the mug as he stirred it. “But, romantically, I don’t think he’s a good match for Galo.”

“Remi!” Aina sounded a little shrill, a sure sign that her patience was wearing thin.

“C’mon, you’ve seen how those two feed off of each other’s energy. They barely have any impulse control separately, so combined they’re like one, huge super-idiot. Plus, they’ve only been dating for a few months. How well can you really know someone after so short a time?”

“We’ve been dating for eight months. And please don’t talk about me like I’m not here.” Galo got up from the table, going over to the fridge to pull out his lunchbox. “It’s been a hard lesson for me to learn, but I am aware that not everyone who’s nice to me actually has my best interests at heart.”

No one said Kray’s name out loud, but they were all thinking it. Aina gave Remi an accusatory glare that clearly said ‘you did this.’

Remi gave her one in return that said ‘stop trying to shame me into being a better person,’ but he did feel bad. “Look, Galo, I know you care a lot about him, but Lio’s the first person you’ve dated, right? I just want to make sure that you’re thinking through all your options.”

“The kitchen was empty when we came in here,” Aina said crossly.

“Hint received,” Lucia said, standing up. As she passed by Remi, she took him by the elbow and pivoted him towards the door. “Come along, vice captain. I need you to approve a purchase order for some mech parts I need.”

“When you say ‘need’...”

Aina continued to frown at Remi until he left her line of sight. When he was gone, she sighed and slumped in her chair, kicking her feet up on the table. “That was a lot of big talk coming from a bachelor.”

Galo smiled gratefully at her as he sat back down. His lunchbox was a large, red insulated cube that he could fit several meals worth of food in, but for now all he took out was a plastic bag full of cookies. “I know Remi's just trying to help. Want a cookie?”

“What kind?”

“Cranberry-orange.”

“Heck yes.” Aina stuck her hand in the bag and pulled one out, but hesitated before taking a bite. “Did Lio make these?”

“Yep.” Galo watched Aina’s eyes light up as she bit into it and he laughed. “Are you trying to say something about my baking?”

“You always add protein powder to the stuff you make. It’s okay when there’s enough chocolate to cover the taste, but usually there’s not.”

“Rude.” Galo chewed on his own cookie and thought about how he’d last seen Lio that morning; still asleep with most of his face pushed into a pillow, hair mussed, the collar of his over-sized sleep shirt askew so that the curve of one pale shoulder was exposed. Galo had dropped a kiss onto that shoulder and then pulled the blanket up so that he wouldn’t get chilled. “Lio’s been making a ton of food lately. He’s even been staying up late to make stuff for me to bring here.”

“I thought you were eating out less often. Lio must be pretty good if he can get you to quit eating so much pizza.”

“Nah, I probably eat the same amount of pizza. He just makes it at home.”

“Figures.” Aina finished her cookie and happily accepted a second one when Galo held the bag out to her again. “The way to your heart really is through your stomach, huh?”

“I guess so.” Galo bit into a second cookie as well. They were almost too tart for him, but Lio didn’t like chocolate so he tended to make sweets that called for fruit instead. “I think he’s avoiding me.”

“How does that even work in a one bedroom apartment?”

“Better than you’d think it would,” Galo said with a sigh. “When we worked here together, we had synced up our sleep schedules. He’s never been much of a morning person, but now he gets up late and goes to bed late, while I’ve always been an ‘early to bed, early to rise’ kind of guy. So, I don’t get to spend much time with him if I’m working that day.”

“That could be a coincidence,” Aina said kindly.

“Could be. But when we’re home together, he’ll be working on the computer, or cooking, or cleaning. I mean, it’s nice and I’ve definitely never lived somewhere so clean before--”

“Concerning.”

“--but he’s definitely doing way more than he needs to.” Galo slumped onto the table again, pressing one cheek to the cold surface and staring at the microwave on the counter. He thought he could remember Lio coming to bed last night, but it might have been a dream; a cool hand on his jaw, a kiss pressed to the corner of his mouth. “I guess it’s true-- y’know, at least while it’s happening-- that everyone thinks their first love will be their last. I feel that same certainty, that Lio will always be with me. But I’m not his first relationship, so I don’t know what he thinks. And I don’t think he does either. So, it’s fine if he needs some time to sort it all out. That’s just more time we get to spend together! Which is really all I want.”

Aina didn’t say anything. Galo turned his head towards her and saw that she looking thoughtfully at the half-finished cookie in her hand.

“Do you think it’s weird to want to propose so soon?”

“For anyone else, sure.” Aina shrugged and ruffled Galo’s hair. “But I’ve accepted that the normal rules of logic and reason don’t apply to you and Lio. If you just keep doing what you think is best, then I’m sure everything will turn out fine. Even if you two are one huge super-idiot together.”

“Seriously?”

“Seriously.”

“Thanks, Aina.” Galo’s head was still on the table but he grinned and waggled his eyebrows at her. “Anyway, how’re you and Thyma doing?”

Aina blushed and ruffled Galo’s hair again, using a little more force. “We’re good. Not looking to get married anytime soon, though.”

  
  


  
  


...

  
  


  
  


Lio was already standing near the door when Meis started knocking on the other side of it. He yanked it open and Meis’s hand swung through empty air mid-knock.

“Excited to see me?” Meis smirked and stepped inside, kicking his boots off in the entry way. He was carrying two canvas bags full of groceries. “Or is that the anxiety?”

“Both,” Lio answered, smiling genuinely. He lead Meis into the kitchen and showed him where to set the bags before giving him a hug.

“It’s good to see you, too,” Meis said with a laugh. Privately, he thought that Lio was getting much better at this sort of thing. Prior to their arrival in Promepolis, he wouldn’t have described the big bad Boss as a hugger. If anything, Lio had tended to avoid physical contact, but his relationship with Galo proved to be a positive influence in more ways than one. “Are you growing your hair out? Your bangs look stupid.”

“Shut up, I’ll pin them back before we start.” Lio started to unpack, checking that Meis had brought everything they needed. More flour, eggs, non-dairy milk, an assortment of fruits and chocolate… “Thanks for letting me help out with this.”

“Why are you thanking me? I’m the one with the school bake sale. And I don’t know anyone else with such a fully-stocked kitchen.”

“Wait until you see my stand mixer,” Lio said with a note of pride, pointing to where it sat on the counter. It was black except for two stripes of teal and pink that ran along the edges. “Galo painted it for me.”

“Of course he did.” The mixer was nice, but Meis was more interested in the glass cookie jar next to it. He took off the lid, but crinkled his nose at the unfamiliar smell. “What kind of cookies are these?”

“Seaweed.”

Meis put the lid back on the jar. “I’m glad you’ve found something to keep you busy. Even Gueira’s unsettled by some of the cat memes you’ve been making.”

“What’s wrong with them? I thought I was using the format correctly.”

“The format’s not the problem. It’s the fact that all of them convey a sense of rising existential dread.”

“Oh,” Lio said, though he did not understand why this was a problem.

The next few hours passed by quickly as they moved from one project to the next. It was nostalgic in a way, to have Lio leading the charge while Meis followed his directions. Together they produced dozens of cookies, brownies, croissants, and jam tarts. Most of the recipes were Meis’s choice since he had a better idea of what college students would buy (and because Lio enjoyed sweets that were slightly less mainstream, like seaweed cookies).

“You’ve really got a knack for this,” Meis said as they finished taste-testing the last batch of strawberry jam tarts. “Everything tastes better than it would’ve if I made it alone. And your presentation’s really good. I wouldn’t have thought to put a glaze on anything. And the crust cutouts on the tarts are cute.”

“It’s easier to tell which flavors are which when you distinguish them like this,” Lio said. He started to sweep leftover flour off the counter and into the sink, but Meis waved him away.

“Gueira should be getting off work soon, so he can clean up.”

“Are you sure?”

“He likes to be included. And I’ll reward him with snacks.”

“Can’t argue with that.” Lio smiled and took off his apron, brushing his hands on it one final time as he set it down. “I’m going to make coffee. Do you want some?”

“Yes, please. I need something bitter to go with all this sugar.”

The scent of fresh coffee gradually mingled with the smell of baked goods. It was too hot out to have the windows open, but Lio wasn’t sure if he would have aired the house out anyway since it smelled like a bakery or a cafe. Lio and Meis both took their coffee black and settled on the couch in the living room, at which point Meis thought it was a good time to broach a sensitive topic.

“So, I heard Galo proposed to you,” Meis said. Lio’s only reaction was a twitch of the hand as he lowered his mug onto the coffee table. “Gueira told me, Galo told him.”

Now that Lio wasn’t holding anything, he folded his hands on his lap. He clenched his jaw, but then released it along with a sigh. “ _Fuck_ , I forgot they gossip.”

“It’s not gossip when it’s your friends being worried about you.”

Lio kicked his foot sideways, tapping his ankle monitor against Meis’s leg. “He didn’t really propose. And I didn’t really answer.”

“What did you say to him?”

“I told him that I can’t handle any big changes right now.” Lio did not care for Meis’s reproving expression. “What?”

“You’re really good at handling big changes. Watching you adjust to city life has been like watching a feral cat domesticate itself.”

“Thank you?”

“You’re welcome. But the point is, you lied to Galo.” Meis set his own empty mug down and leaned back into the couch, propping one ankle up on the opposite knee. “Why don’t you want to marry him? For the record, I don’t think you’ll be able to do better than a guy you already share an intrinsic, spiritual connection with.”

Lio clicked his tongue and stood up, taking the mugs into the kitchen with him. “I’m not holding out for someone else. It’s either Galo or it’s no one.”

Meis frowned and craned his neck so that he could see Lio, watching him over the kitchen bar. “Why would you pick no one?”

The sink was full of batter-caked bowls and utensils, so Lio left the mugs on the counter, but he didn’t return to the living room. He looked down at his hands and touched his left ring finger, trying to imagine a golden band there. “I’m not good at... personal relationships. You and Gueira are my oldest friends, and I’ve only known you for three years. I don’t know how to make things last. I don’t know how not to be destructive, and-- and I’m just so _angry_ all the time and I don’t know how to let go of it. And Galo deserves someone whole, someone who actually knows how to live and isn’t just making it up as they go along, like I do.”

Meis got tired of straining his neck and he let his head loll onto the plush back of the couch, staring up at the ceiling. “What makes you think Galo isn’t doing the same thing?”

Lio looked sharply at him. “What do you mean?”

“I’m not sure if you’re aware, but until about a year ago, being a firefighter was a profession with one of the highest mortality rates.”

Lio immediately felt like an idiot and his face flushed with shame. After all, he had been there when Kray revealed that he’d encouraged Galo’s placement with Burning Rescue in order to hasten his death. “I might have heard something.”

“Galo probably thought he was going to die doing his job, just like you.” Meis’s phone buzzed on the table and lit up with a text from Gueira, making him smile. “Hell, Gueira and I were pretty sure we were gonna die on the road, too. But now everyone gets to live. We’re all just making shit up.”

“You’re in school for engineering,” Lio scoffed, but then felt bad for doing so. It wasn’t fair to try and fault Meis for having a more concise life plan.

“True. I had just started college when I got my flame, so I haven’t been a Burnish as long as you or Gueira. But it’s not like I’m just picking up where I left off, y’know? It’s different. And not just because I’m several years older than the majority of my classmates. I want to make sure that science keeps progressing in the right direction, so that no one else has to go through what we did.”

Lio filled two glasses with water and came back into the living room, handing one to Meis. “Were you the one who designed that cannon you two shot me out of?”

“I was, but it was Gueira’s idea. He wanted a people-cannon for unrelated reasons.”

Lio thought about that for a moment. “Is there a punchline here about getting high?”

Meis smiled over the rim of his glass. “There is.”

There was a brief knock on the unlocked front door before Gueira let himself in, bursting into the living room. He had clearly run there and was still wearing his MickyD’s uniform, but he grinned widely when he checked the time on his phone and barked a triumphant laugh. “ _Hah!_ Four-twenty, blaze it!”

Meis looked at Lio and tapped on an invisible drum set. “Buh-dum tsss.”

  
  


  
  


  
  


Later that evening, Lio woke up on the couch to a dark living room. He had been disturbed by the muffled sound of Galo’s ringtone and he fumbled for his phone, finding it wedged between the cushions. He answered right before it switched to voicemail.

“Hey,” Lio said, his voice still thick with sleep. He cleared his throat.

“ _Hey, yourself,”_ Galo said softly. _“_ _Sorry, I didn’t think you’d be asleep._ _”_

“It’s alright,” Lio said. He rubbed a hand over his face and slowly pushed himself upright. “What time is it?”

“ _Nine-ish.”_

“Shit. I didn’t mean to fall asleep for so long.”

“ _Did you take_ _a nap?”_ Galo chuckled.

“I guess so. Gueira brought weed over and I haven’t smoked in a while.”

“ _Lightweight. Should I let you sleep?”_

“No,” Lio said quickly. His eyes had adjusted to the darkness and he could make out the silhouettes of furniture in the room, their edges illuminated by the city light that came in through the windows. “Can we… just talk for a minute?”

“ _Of course.”_ Even through the phone, the warmth in Galo’s voice was apparent. Lio could tell that he was surprised but pleased by the request. _“How did baking with the guys go?”_

“It went well. It was nice having Gueira and Meis over.”

“ _I’m glad. You could invite them over more.”_

“I don’t want to bother them too often.”

“ _You know they don’t think of you like that.”_

“...I know.” Lio smiled and tried to imagine Galo at the Burning Rescue station. It wasn’t quite his bedtime yet, so he probably wasn’t in the dormitories. There was a whisper of static on the line. “Are you on the roof? I think I can hear the wind.”

“ _Yeah. It’s Lucia’s turn to pick a movie and I’m not in the mood for horror.”_

“She is a woman of very particular tastes. Any fires today?”

“ _Kitchen fire. Not a big one, but it started as a grease fire that they tried to put out with water.”_

“Rookie mistake,” Lio said. Galo laughed and his heart skipped a beat. “Do you have plans after work tomorrow?”

Galo paused before replying and Lio saw him clearly then; a smile that crinkled his eyes first and then curled the edges of his mouth, his hair made even more wild as the wind tousled it. _“_ _Are you asking me on a date?_ _”_

“Yes.”

“ _Hah, okay! Want me to grab anything on my way home?”_

“No, I’ll bribe Gueira into picking up a few things for me.”

“ _It’s a date.”_

Lio smiled and pulled his legs up, hugging his knees to his chest.

“ _I went by that new old bookstore a_ _t_ _the end of the block.”_

“New-old?”

“ _It’s new, but t_ _hey_ _only sell used books. Decorated kinda kitschy on the inside.”_

“Tell me about it.”

  
  


  
  


…

  
  


  
  


Galo could separate all the events in his life into one of two categories: pre-Lio and post-Lio. (He had considered including a pre-Kray category, but those memories were few and faded at best. Plus, it meant attributing Kray’s name to a category and, even for intangible purposes, it felt wrong to put Kray on the same level as Lio.) When Galo had come home from work pre-Lio, it meant returning to an empty, lifeless apartment. It meant running the air conditioning just to circulate the stale air and leaving the TV on at all hours just to hear the sound of someone else’s voice. It was Galo trying to distract himself with exercise and a variety of hobbies until he could be called on again by Burning Rescue.

Returning home post-Lio was moving quietly through the apartment since Lio was sprawled out on the couch, still asleep at 1pm. It was walking back from the station hand-in-hand and putting two take-out boxes in the fridge after dinner. It was Galo being scolded for leaving his socks everywhere and Galo in turn being annoyed by how often he found lighters rattling around in the washing machine.

Today, it was opening his front door to an apartment that was unusually dark for early-afternoon. It was being surprised to learn that this was because all the blinds were closed and bed sheets had been tacked over the windows. The living room itself had also been taken over by sheets and blankets that were draped over furniture and suspended from the ceiling, tied there to furniture hooks. He reached for a light switch, but it was stuck on the ‘off’ position with a strip of masking tape.

Lio emerged from the shadows carrying a battery-operated lantern and smiling mischievously. “You’re right on time.”

“And you’re cute.” Galo grinned and touched the bobby pins that held Lio’s bangs back, dipping his head to place a kiss on his forehead. “What’s all this?”

“It’s our date.”

“A themed date, huh? If I’d known you were gonna do a vampire thing, I would’ve worn different underwear.”

“It’s not a vampire thing. Though now I am curious as to what you think a ‘vampire thing’ entails.” Lio took Galo’s hand and lead him around the living room and back into the bedroom. “Come on, change out of your uniform. We’re going camping.”

“Do I get to use light in here?”

“In the interest of safety, yes.”

The attire for living room camping was t-shirts and sweatpants. Galo still hadn’t worn out the novelty of getting to see Lio in soft, loose clothing and he admired the way his shirt rode up when Lio got down on his hands and knees to crawl into the middle of the blanket cave. Galo followed him in and was glad that the inside of the cave was just as spacious as it looked on the outside. Lio had moved the coffee table somewhere and the sheets didn’t fully cover the top, leaving a patch of ceiling visible. He’d also removed the cushions from the furniture and used every pillow in the house to pad the floor, leaving an open ring in the center which was filled with a collection of flameless candles to mimic a campfire.

“Holy shit, this is cozy.” Galo crawled to where the pillows were stacked highest and padded with blankets. He couldn’t stretch out fully, but he was able to curl up comfortably next to Lio without feeling cramped. “We’re keeping it. This is the new living room.”

“Let me give you the tour. There’s the entrance,” Lio said, pointing to where they had come in.

“I did notice that.”

“Shush. And there’s the emergency exit.” Lio pointed to the side of the couch, where there was another gap in the blankets. “I also have a fire extinguisher.”

“Now you’re just teasing me,” Galo said with a pout, but he brightened when Lio unearthed a fire extinguisher from somewhere and handed it to him. He almost laughed, but something about Lio’s serious expression was a little off-putting. “Lio, why do I need the fire extinguisher?”

“Because I have a kitchen blowtorch,” Lio said, holding up a small, metallic item that Galo would have otherwise mistaken for a handheld power tool. He also revealed a small tray of snacks that he’d been hiding.

“When did you get a blowtorch?!”

“The same time I got the measuring spoons that look like frogs. I thought we could make s’mores.”

“O-oh. That does sound nice.” Galo pursed his lips and looked around the tent more thoroughly. “Well, you did make it pretty roomy in here… and there’s adequate ventilation. How big is the flame on that?”

“At the highest setting, the flame is about five inches. But we can adjust it down so that it’s only an inch or two. There’s a safety on the top, here,” Lio tapped the icon that showed it was in the ‘lock’ position, “And there’s a setting where you can leave the flame going without holding the ignition, but I promise not to use it.”

Galo hugged the extinguisher to his chest and nodded solemnly. “Your emergency exits aren’t clearly marked, but I’ll allow it.”

“I’ll be sure to have it up to code by the next inspection.” Lio smiled and pecked a kiss on Galo’s cheek.

Any reservations that Galo had about using a blowtorch inside a blanket fort were gone by the time the first s’more was done. Lio stabbed a fork into a marshmallow and torched it before passing it off to Galo, who happily smushed it between layers of graham cracker, adding chocolate for himself and cookie butter for Lio. It was messier than Lio had anticipated, especially when he gave in to Galo’s request to carefully torch some of the chocolate too, but cleaner than Galo had thought it would be.

“I don’t think I brought enough napkins.” Lio sucked a piece of charred marshmallow off his thumb, but the sticky feeling remained.

“Wipe your hands on the inside of your pockets,” Galo suggested.

“I’m not doing that.” Lio watched Galo’s tongue poke out the corner of his mouth as he tried to lick an elusive spot of chocolate. “Galo, can I ask you something?”

Galo put his tongue back in his mouth and reclined on the pillows, propping his head up on one hand. “Go ahead.”

“Did you always want to be a fireman? I mean, what did you want to be when you were a kid?”

“I wanted to be a Power Ranger.”

“I see.” Lio kept a straight face and maintained eye contact with Galo for as long as possible, but eventually he looked away and coughed a laugh into his hand.

“What about you?” Galo reached for Lio’s hand and pulled him down onto the pillows, so that they were curled facing each other. “What did you wanna be when you grew up?”

Lio made a face. “I’ll tell you, but don’t laugh.”

“You just laughed at me!”

“Yeah, okay. I wanted to be the moon.”

Galo raised his eyebrows and glanced meaningfully towards the ceiling. “Like, _that_ moon?”

“Yes,” Lio said sadly. “I was devastated to learn that this was not the way of the world.”

Galo chewed on his lips to keep from laughing, but his eyes sparkled and his shoulders shook with the effort. It was contagious and a poorly-restrained smile grew on Lio’s face as well, sending themboth into stitches of laughter. Galo wiped a tear from his eye, but he must have smeared more chocolate there because Lio’s expression became a strange mix of affection and disgust. Galo put his hands on Lio’s waist and dragged him closer, silencing what he knew would be a protest by putting his mouth to Lio’s throat. Galo nipped lightly at his skin, then pressed a kiss to the pink mark. He felt Lio’s pulse stutter under his lips.

“Y’know, I wanted to be a fireman for most of my life, and now that I have it…” Galo pressed a trail of lingering kisses to Lio’s jaw, his ear, his cheeks, letting his lips brush over Lio’s but never quite landing a kiss there. “I was focused on that for so long, I never really learned how to want anything else. Until you, Lio.”

Lio flushed red and looked slightly annoyed. “You really do just say anything that comes into your head.”

Galo smiled and nuzzled his nose against Lio’s. “I'm just saying how I feel.”

“What about five years from now? Or ten?” Lio demanded. He had lowered the volume of his voice, but Galo could still hear it quaver with emotion. “What about after you’ve realized that this is the most I’m ever going to be? That I'm never going to burn the way I used to?”

Galo tipped forward so that their foreheads pressed together and Lio scrunched his eyes shut, sending a tear rolling across his face. “Remember that day you tied me up in a cave? When I saw you flying over the lake, you were so bright I thought you were a falling star at first. And when you almost died, I watched you turn to ashes and… I was terrified that this was it. This was where that star burnt out.

“But you're not a fucking star.” Galo tapped his head against Lio’s with a little more force than intended and Lio opened his eyes. “You're a person. You're _my_ person. And all I know is that every day I wake up next to you is the best day of my life.”

“Galo...”

“Do you like waking up next to me?”

“...Yes.”

Galo grinned from ear to ear and he kissed Lio’s nose. Lio’s smile came more slowly, but eventually he laughed and cradled Galo’s face in his hands. His thumbs stroked Galo’s cheekbones and felt the stubble on his chinbefore pulling him into a kiss. Galo was delighted to discover that Lio tasted like sugar and he deepened the kiss, his hands sliding from Lio’s waist to his back to pull him even closer. Lio broke away to lick the chocolate from Galo’s cheek, which Galo took as an invitation to return his own mouth to Lio’s neck.

“Since you’re not going out for a while, I could give you some really awful hickies,” Galo mumbled against Lio’s skin, licking underneath his jaw.

“That’s not--” Lio nearly bit his tongue when he felt the wet heat of Galo’s mouth close on his throat, already teasing skin between his teeth-- “not fair unless I get to mark you up, too. Maybe you’ll start keeping your shirt on, for a change.”

“Too late to complain about that. I already know how much you like me with my clothes off.” Galo chuckled, but it turned into a grunt when Lio fisted a hand in his hair and dragged his head up.

“Challenge accepted,” Lio said coolly, but there was fire in his eyes as he pushed Galo onto his back and slung a leg across his hips, using the momentum to swing himself upright and straddle Galo. His eyelids lowered as his gaze traveled steadily southbound, drinking in the way Galo’s shirt stretched around his body so that the definition of his muscles could be seen through the fabric. Lio licked his lips and all at once rucked Galo’s shirt up to his armpits and bent forward, grinding their hips together as he ran his tongue over Galo’s sternum.

Galo whined and arched his back. “It wasn’t a challenge! C’mon, those take like a week to heal.”

Lio was about to start lavishing attention on Galo’s nipples, but stopped and put his devious tongue back in his mouth. “Do you really not want me to?”

As the silence stretched between them, a blush bloomed on Galo’s face and neck. He felt that on some professional, work-related level he should care, but it wasn’t enough to outweigh the thrill of having Lio’s mouth on him. The idea alone made his cock throb and Lio smirked as he felt it happen. He rolled one of Galo’s nipples between his thumb and forefinger, pinching it just to the edge of pain, and was gratified to hear a low, stifled sound in Galo’s throat.

“What happened to saying how you feel?” Lio prodded. He waited until Galo started to speak and flicked his tongue over the other nipple.

“ _A-ah!_ Nothing I can’t cover with a shirt, okay?”

Lio was on him in an instant, his teeth and tongue working with an almost fevered efficiency to quickly bring out the first red blotch on Galo’s pectoral, just below the collar bone. When that was done, he returned to Galo’s nipples just long enough to make him worry that Lio wanted to leave bruises there as well, but he continued to shift downwards. Lio’s hands smoothed over Galo’s abs and gripped his hips as he bit and sucked more marks onto Galo’s ribs, his stomach, the inside of each hip bone. Galo moaned and tried to buck when Lio finally mouthed at his clothed cock, but Lio’s grip on him was firm.

Lio abruptly movedoff of him, sitting to the side so that he could tug at the waistband to Galo’s sweatpants. Galo got the message and hastily yanked off his pants and underwear, Lio’s hands hurrying him along. As soon as they were off, Lio was between his legs, pushing his hands on the back of Galo’s thighs. He stared unblinkingly at Galo as he lowered his head and licked a stripe along the inside of his leg, moving closer to the apex of his legs and his red, swollen cock. A shiver ran up Galo’s spine and Lio smiled impishly before latching his mouth onto Galo’s thigh and sucking hard. Galo let out a startled moan and instinctively tried to close his legs, but Lio forced his knees apart.

“Oh, you bruise a lot better here,” Lio said softly. With a feather-light touch, he put a fingertip to Galo’s thigh and traced a circle around the red mark.

Galo gasped Lio’s name, shifting his legs again just to feel Lio pry them apart. “Lio, please...”

“ _Shh,_ ” Lio whispered. He pressed a kiss to the spot he wanted to mark next. “I haven’t done anything that warrants begging, yet.”

Despite his vague threat, Lio didn’t want to keep Galo waiting too long and relented after his legs began to visibly tremble. He was also starting to feel uncomfortably hard and he palmed himself through his pants to take the edge off as he turned his attention to Galo’s cock. Lio blew a hot breath over the shaft before spitting in his hand and wrapping his fingers around it, inspiring a new string of noises from Galo. He took up a slow rhythm as he pumped his hand and thumbed Galo’s leaking slit, marveling at his flushed skin and how pliant he became in Lio’s hands.

“You look _so_ good,” Lio crooned. He left a trail of increasingly wet kisses along Galo’s cock, starting at his balls and continuing until his tongue was laving over the head and lapping at the precome there.

Galo propped himself up on his elbow and lay a shaking palm on Lio’s head, fingers tangling in his hair. He didn’t push or pull, but seemed only to want to ground himself by touching Lio. His blue eyes were hazy and dark. “Lio, _please_.”

Lio opened his mouth wide and sank onto Galo’s cock, taking in as much as he could and relishing the hot weight on his tongue. He felt the head tap the back of his throat and moaned, making Galo cry out and jerk his hips, fucking deeper into him. Lio gagged and Galo stopped moving when he’d realized what he’d done, but Lio kept going even though his eyes watered with the effort. He pinned Galo’s hips down with his hands once more and bobbed his head, sucking and swallowing around his length.

Galo threw his head back and made a cacophony of sound; whining and mewling, half-formed pleas and praises, chants of _Lio, Lio, Lio!_ His world had narrowed to the velvet slide of Lio’s tongue, to the tight heat of his throat, to the bite of Lio’s nails in his skin, and the weighted grip on his hips. His body ached and wanted, but struggled to receive the flood of pleasure that Lio gave him. It was too much and it wasn’t enough, so Galo anchored his fist in Lio’s hair and pulled him off his cock with a groan.

Lio resisted at first, but having Galo yank at his hair felt _excellent_ and he let the cock slide out of his throat with an obscene, wet sound. But Galo didn’t let go and instead dragged Lio back up the length of his body, sending Lio’s hands scrambling for purchase as he tried to keep up. Galo kissed him hard, letting go of Lio’s hair but cupping the back of his head as he licked into his mouth. He felt a thrill at tasting himself on Lio’s tongue, a decadent mix of salty and sweet, and sucked a smear of precome off his lower lip.

“You always want to kiss,” Lio sighed, but Galo could tell that he was smiling, even as he grabbed Galo’s jaw and pushed two fingers into his mouth. Galo readily sucked on them and moaned as Lio angled his head away so that he could purr into Galo’s ear. “Hey, can I fuck you?”

“ _Lio_ ,” Galo groaned and Lio removed his hand from his mouth. “I- I’m really close.”

“From just a few hickeys?” Lio teased. He gently bit Galo’s earlobe and let it drag between his teeth, listening keenly to the way he whimpered.

“More’n a few...” Galo tugged on Lio’s pants, annoyed that he was still wearing them. “I wanna touch you.”

Lio straddled Galo and shimmied his sweatpants down so that the waistband was low on his hips, his cock jutting out above it. A desperate gasp escaped Galo when Lio pressed them together, taking advantage of his still spit-slicked cock to rut and slide against him. “Needy.”

Galo seized the hem of Lio’s shirt and pulled it up and over his head, sending a few bobby pins flying in the process. Lio shucked it the rest of the way off and pressed his bare chest to Galo’s, delighting in the shared heat of their skin and how their hearts beat out a rapid tempo together.Galo licked his palm and put his hand between them. His fingers and thumb didn’t quite meetwhen he wrapped his hand around both of them and he squeezed a little too tightly, making Lio shudder. Galo hooked his other arm around Lio’s neck and kissed him as he stroked his hand over their cocks. He alternated speeds at random; switching between long, languid strokes and short, fast ones in an attempt to garner a reaction from Lio. It was at his own risk since he was already close to finishing, brought even closer by the weight of Lio’s lithe body ontop of his own. “I wanna hear you, too.”

Lio exhaled sharply and rocked into Galo’s hand as he suddenly picked up speed again. His cock throbbed and his grip tightened on Galo’s shoulders, but he remained maddeningly quiet. “Make me.”

Lio yelped in surprise as Galo rolled them so that they switched places. Galo yanked Lio’s pants the rest of the way off and lay between his legs, pinning Lio under him and accidentally pulling one of the sheets loose so that it fluttered down on top of them. Galo arched his body away from Lio to keep from smothering him, his head nestled in the crook of Lio’s neck as his hand continued to work between them. The pump of his hand and the thrust of his hips moved with increasing discord as Galo chased his end, a low groan rumbling in his throat. Galo bit down hard on Lio’s shoulder, finally startling a breathy whine out of him, and came with a shudder.

“All I have to do is be a little mean to you, huh?” Lio smiled and kissed Galo’s temple. His thighs clenched around Galo’s hips, hungry for more friction.

“Shuddup,” Galo croaked, his mouth still open on Lio’s shoulder. His frame trembled with sudden weakness and he took a long, steadying breath through his nose. “Your turn.”

“Oh yeah? H-hey!”

Galo sat back on his knees and threw off the sheet before grabbing Lio’s hips andhoisting him up ass-over-tits. Lio was dragged across the pillows until his shoulders touched Galo’s knees, bent nearly in half with his ass in Galo’s face and his own ankles near his head. Blood rushed to his face from both gravity and the sensation of Galo’s tongue lapping over his hole.

“ _Galo!_ ”

“Fuck, I love how flexible you are.” Galo grinned and blew a cool breath over the place his tongue had just been. His body was still shaking a little, but he held Lio firm. “Do you really not want me to?”

Lio swallowed hard and nodded for Galo to keep going.

“I thought we were going for explicit verbal consent today?” Galo dragged his teeth over the pale, sensitive skin of Lio’s thigh, smiling cheekily when Lio glared at him. They were both equally bad at backing down from a challenge.

“Galo Thymos,” Lio said, voice rough but still commanding, “I want you to eat me out.”

“I love you,” Galo sighed. But instead of immediately returning to rimming, Galo set out on sucking a few revenge hickeys into Lio’s thighs. He worked at a leisurely pace, less concerned about leaving a mark than he was with coaxing as many shivers and sighs from Lio as he could. By the time Galo’s tongue had circled back around to the main event, Lio was breathing hard and he had a hand clamped over his mouth. “Looking pretty pink there, Lio. I thought you could handle a few hickeys.”

“You weren’t upside down,” Lio hissed.

“Tell me more about how you’re _so_ less sensitive than me,” Galo said, just to get a rise out of him.

“You’re not-- _oh!_ ” Lio let out a cracked moan as Galo dipped his tongue into him, breaching the tight ring of muscle and swirling once before it was gone again. “ _Fuck_.”

Galo hummed happily with his lips pressed to Lio’s entrance, enjoying the way his slender legs trembled as the vibration went through him. He started to lick him in earnest, gliding and swirling over his hole, and tongue-fucking into him with increasing frequency and depth.

Lio’s toes curled and he felt a shock go through him at every swipe of Galo’s tongue, his cock dripping messily onto his chest, his stomach still wet with Galo’s release. He wrapped a hand around himself and stroked urgently, biting down on his knuckles to stifle another cry. Galo noticed and released one of Lio’s hips-- holding him in place with only one hand but it was an iron grip-- so that he could pry Lio’s hand out of his mouth. Their fingers twined together and Lio wailed as Galo sucked on his rim and plunged his tongue inside. Lio’s entire body tensed, his breath hitching as he came, but then moaning as Galo continued to lick him through it.

Galo gently set Lio down, helping him to unfold and lie comfortably, and collapsed next to him. Both of them were breathing hard.

“Well.” Lio licked his lips. There was a row of bruises blooming on his hip where Galo had held him one-handed. He was pretty sure that the bite on his neck would bruise too and look more like a bite and less like a hickey. Still, it was worth it to see the red marks that patterned Galo’s torso and thighs. “That was...”

“ _Hot_ ,” Galo finished for him. He surveyed the tent; the candles had all been kicked over and the pillows were in disarray, but they had improved the ventilation by pulling down one of the sheets. “We might need to wash the sex cave before we use it again.”

Lio laughed and grimaced. “I hated so much of that sentence, but mostly I hate that you said ‘might.’”

“Do we have any chocolate left?” Galo tried to look for it without getting up, pulling random pillows and blankets towards him and flipping them over without finding anything.

Lio, who knew exactly where the leftover snacks were, eyed Galo’s sinful mouth and blushed. “Go brush your teeth.”

“If I brush my teeth, will you make more s’mores?” Galo frowned. “S’more’ores?”

“I will if you bring water on your way back.”

“And napkins?”

“No.” Lio touched a wet spot on his chin and was pretty sure that it was his own come. “No, it’s too late for that now.”

Galo laughed and pulled down another sheet.

**Author's Note:**

> suffer with me @onesinshineyday


End file.
